I. adjectiveDate: 13th century
not like: as
a. marked by lack of resemblance ;different<

the two books are quite unlike

>b. marked by inequality ;unequal<

contributed unlike amounts

>
• unlikenessnounII. prepositionDate: circa 1592
not like: as
a. different from <

a landscape unlike any other

>b. not characteristic of <

it was unlike him to be late

>c. in a different manner from <

spoke clearly, unlike the others

>III. conjunctionDate: 1949
in a manner that is different than ; not as
Usage:
The use of unlike as a conjunction is less common than conjunctive use of like and, while criticized, is not as frequently cited as an error. The conjuctive unlike almost always introduces a prepositional phrase <

unlike in other areas, the judiciary cannot justify its attempt…as a necessary evil — Alexandra M. Walsh, Stanford Law Review

>. In spite of criticism, this conjunctive use of unlike is well established in both American and British English.

Look at other dictionaries:

unlike — is an adjective (animals as unlike as the bear and the lion), and a preposition meaning ‘dissimilar to’ (a journey unlike any other). Informally it is used as a quasi adverb in constructions involving a following preposition: • Unlike with fax… … Modern English usage

unlike — un|like [ ʌn laık ] function word ** Unlike can be used in the following ways: as a preposition (followed by a noun): Her last book is unlike anything else she has written. as an adjective: The two boys are as unlike as any two brothers could be … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

unlike — [[t]ʌ̱nla͟ɪk[/t]] ♦♦♦ 1) PREP If one thing is unlike another thing, the two things have different qualities or characteristics from each other. This was a foreign country, so unlike San Jose... She was unlike him in every way except for her coal… … English dictionary